Republic of Korea in Yeokcheon - Chapter 53



Only Krnovel

#53. Just one hit.

February 10, 1945.

Hawaii Pacific Fleet Command.

“I don’t know if my health has suffered from the long journey. Are you okay?”

“Hehehe! After taking Korea’s medicine, I am very healthy. Thank you for your concern.”

Roosevelt smiled brightly in response to a greeting expressing concern about Lee Kang-cheol’s health. It was not that he was not, but he looked at least 5 years, if not 10 years, younger than the last time he saw him.

It seemed like he was well versed in modern medicine.

Anyway, after chatting for a while, Roosevelt got straight to the point.

“General, we will soon launch a major offensive on the European front. Then at least the war in Europe will end.”

“I know. “Germany will probably be over within two months after the start of the offensive.”

“you’re right. Taking a tempo break at the general’s warning was a big help. At the time, many people opposed it, but now everyone accepts it. “If we had launched an offensive in that harsh weather, many soldiers would have been sacrificed without the help of our Allied Forces’ greatest strength, aviation power.”

“Because it actually happened.”

“haha! So Churchill, who opposed me at the time, is obedient to me these days. Half jokingly, I asked if the White House had a secret astrologer, but it made me feel a little sad inside. “He said that it was all white-haired white people who were interfering in ways that they normally did not, starting from Normandy.”

“ha ha ha!”

That kind of thing could have been said.

Roosevelt rarely interfered with the operations of front-line generals.

Usually, after making a political decision about where to open the front in the big picture, everything was left to the judgment of the generals at the front and the commanders-in-chief of each army in Washington.

However, after contact with the expeditionary force, they sometimes came forward and told me to leave the cabbage alone, and after everything had passed, they all turned out to be correct, so it was inevitable that people would say things like astrologers.

“And the Pacific theater also sees Japan’s surrender as only a matter of time. In fact, in Japan’s current situation, it would be right to surrender, but I don’t understand how many more people they have to kill before they want to acknowledge a war they have already lost.”

“That’s Japan. “To be honest, Japanese people cannot understand us, fellow Northeast Asians and neighbors.”

“Anyway, that’s true. The reason I asked to see the General is because now we need to take a proper look at the post-war world order. Of course, we agreed to some extent last time, but then and now are different.”

“you’re right.”

There is a big difference between ‘I will’ and ‘I did’ a contribution.

However, the Republic of Korea had already made a significant contribution to the Allied forces in the war.

Even setting aside what Roosevelt and Lee Kang-cheol had told us before they met, Korea is currently contributing absolutely to the U.S. Navy and the U.S. Army in the war to recapture the Philippines.

In fact, it is said that MacArthur, who had great pride, praised Korea, saying, ‘Korea alone is better than all the other Allied forces combined.’

Moreover, Korea’s escape from Japanese colonial rule itself was a great help to the United States, and in addition, by defeating and depleting the Kwantung Army day after day, the United States did not have to complain about the Soviet Union.

The conclusion was that if this was the case, the board had to be re-laid.

Of course, there was also the calculation that it would be of great benefit to the United States after the war.

Because Korea has future technology and knowledge.

“Then shall I suggest first?”

“haha! “You say so.”

“But there are prerequisites.”

“What is that?”

“What I say from now on will be recognized when Korea defeats the Kwantung Army. Is that okay with you? Of course, I firmly believe that Korea will easily destroy the Kwantung Army, but since it is our country’s business, we must always be careful.”

“Of course. “I admit it.”

“haha! great. “Then, first of all, with regard to Japan, I will give you all rights to the remaining territories except for the three islands of Honshu, Kyusu, and Shikoku.”

“Hmm, that’s not much different from what we agreed on before…”

“That’s right. “Let’s confirm it first.”

“All right.”

“Secondly, I will recognize the territory of Manchukuo that we will occupy after defeating the Kwantung Army as your territory.”

“Hoo?”

This is a big improvement over the last time.

Last time, the United States said, ‘We will not get involved.’ But this time, they are actively acknowledging it as Korean territory.

Of course, we would have to defeat the Kwantung Army and take over on our own.

“Thirdly, there is the China issue. Regarding China, we, the United States, fully agree with your position. This is effective from now on. “Even if you tell me to stop renting right now, I will.”

“Even if I break it into several pieces?”

“That’s right. Regarding China, even before the General spoke, there were concerns, in fact, even in some quarters of our government. The question was whether it was waking up a sleeping dragon. However, at the time, there was no choice but to support China against the Japanese military, but not now. “Most people agreed that in the distant future, it would be a greater threat than the Soviet Union.”

“That’s a wise idea.”

“Anyway, I will leave China to you, so whether you split it in two or three is up to you. However, since it is difficult for us to take the lead for the cause, we will only provide support. Do you agree?”

“Yes, I agree.”

To this extent, Lee Kang-cheol had absolutely no reason to say no, since he was acknowledging Korea’s hegemony in Northeast Asia.

“Then, what remains is the problem of the Soviet Union. What will the Soviet Union do?”

“On most things about the Soviet Union we agreed with Churchill.”

“How do you mean?”

“As soon as the war in Europe ends, the Soviet Union will no longer be an ally of ours and ours. In fact, the German army is still holding out, so it is only within the framework of the Allied forces, which is not good.”

“is it so?”

“Yes, the lease to the Soviet Union was completely cut off at the end of last year.”

“Oh oh! Stalin must have gone berserk?”

“haha! Our poor American ambassador to the Soviet Union received a lot of criticism. “He called me over and swore at me openly.”

“Well…”

“Either way, the war will end. We have nothing to regret. The Soviet Union is currently unable to advance even one step in Ukraine. “We continue to be forced to inflict losses on the German Central Army Group.”

“Hmm, if the British and Americans occupy Germany and continue to advance west, we will clash.”

“I know. Still, the Soviet Union would not be able to collide head-on with the United States. Our American national power is currently the strongest. Whether it is economic power or military power. “Stalin will not be able to stand against us in the next five years.”

“I guess so.”

“And then from now on I’m going to consult with the General. ha ha ha!”

“yes? Aha, hahaha!”

After laughing at Roosevelt’s joke, Lee Kang-cheol opened his mouth first this time.

“Basically, we, the Republic of Korea, have no interest in Europe and have no ability to be interested. No, we could be interested in Northeast Asia at a small scale and East Asia at a larger scale.”

“I guess so.”

“The problem is of course the Soviet Union, because this damn country is so big, its territory stretches from Europe to Asia. “I’m glad I sold Alaska…”

“ha ha ha! “That was our American fortune.”

“Anyway, I won’t talk about the Soviet Union in Europe. The US and UK will take care of that. However, it would be better to reduce the area as much as possible.”

“Well sir.”

“And the Asian Soviet Union… “It will definitely clash with our Republic of Korea at least once.”

“The Soviet Union is a great country. “It’s different from China.”

“We will take care of that, so if there is a conflict between us and the Soviet Union, please provide us with as much support as possible.”

“Of course. Those guys are different on the inside and the outside. Because of those damn spies this time… Ugh! “If we had been a little late, we would have been in big trouble.”

“Oh, you caught Klaus Fuchs, right?”

“of course. In addition to him, we found about 10 more spies. This is something I am greatly indebted to. “I thought we would have a monopoly on atomic bombs for at least 10 years, but researchers say that period could have been shortened to less than 5 years.”

“Four years to be exact.”

“Huh…”

Roosevelt clicked his tongue with a puzzled expression.

“By the way, when do you plan on landing in Japan?”

“That’s what I’m worried about. “Because your country provided us with an airfield, the efficiency of bombing increased overwhelmingly, but the accuracy dropped significantly.”

“Is that so?”

“You know, right?”

“haha! Of course. “You wouldn’t have thought about the jet stream over Japan.”

“Ugh! What should I do with that? What on earth would you do if you filled it up with 9 tons and bombed it? “Most of them end up in the wrong place.”

“You know this isn’t free, right?”

“Huh! “Are you doing this again?”

“ha ha ha! “Because we are a poor country.”

“Don’t do that, just say it. “When have I ever been upset?”

“All right. “There is only one solution.”

“What is that?”

“Change people.”

“A person?”

“Yes, change the commander of the 21st Bomber Command. Then it will be resolved.”

“Hansel is a good commander…”

“I know that. I saw it sometimes in Daegu. But he is no match for bombing Japan. “The bombing of Japan requires a more daring person.”

“Who is that? “You probably know the right person, right?”

“This is General Curtis LeMay.”

“General LeMay? Oh, that young general?”

“Make that person commander. Pilot and bomber losses will increase, but bombing efficiency will increase significantly.”

“Hmm, is that so? However, the loss of bombers and pilots is increasing…”

“It was like this originally.”

“Ha, I understand.”

Roosevelt stopped hesitating when he heard that it was always like this.

In fact, Commander LeMayro should have already been replaced by now.

However, there was no sign of change, so I looked into the situation and found that thanks to the extremely shortened flight range, the bomb load was loaded tightly with 9 tons, which is almost the maximum of the B-29, and the sortie sortie was greatly increased, to some extent offsetting the decreased accuracy. There is.

This is why the higher-ups in the U.S. military are dissatisfied, but they haven’t said anything loudly.

However, Lee Kang-cheol needed LeMay.

He is famous for being a Stone Age enthusiast.

“Then, even if there is no atomic bomb, will Japan surrender if LeMay takes charge and bombs it? Landing in Japan is too burdensome.”

“That’s not it. “Japan will survive somehow even if the entire country is devastated.”

“Huh! No, why? “For whom?”

“That’s because they are Japanese. “It takes something huge to wake them up.”

“This is going crazy! So how many shots should you drop? Should we bomb both shots as shown in the video?”

“LeMay will make up for that shot. One shot! Just one hit. Then he will surrender.”

“What a pitiful people. “I didn’t want to use it if possible…”

Who wants to open Pandora’s box??

But you’ll have to drop one foot.

This is because the Japanese will definitely surrender due to their temperament and will instill fear of nuclear weapons throughout the world.

That’s why Lee Kang-cheol was secretly encouraging the use of nuclear weapons.

‘It’s just one shot, one shot. But it’s not two feet, is it?’

Lee Kang-cheol rationalized himself like this.